Friday, 24 May 2013

Procession
are an Italian prog band from Turin that was formed in 1972. In their
debut album, “Frontiera” the line-up featured Gianfranco Gaza
(vocals, harmonica), Angelo Girardi (bass, electric mandolin),
Marcello Capra (electric and acoustic guitar), Giancarlo Capello
(drums, percussion) and Roby Munciguerra (electric and acoustic
guitar). The album was recorded in just a week in Rome and was
released on the Help label. The music alternates hard, raw passages
with electric guitars in the forefront to delicate, reflective
atmospheres where acoustic passages prevail. It’s a concept album
that deals with the problem of immigration from Southern Italy to the
North and its industrialized cities like Turin or Milan. The lyrics
were written by Marina Comin, the same lyricist as Raccomandata
Ricevuta Ritorno’s “Per... un mondo di cristallo”.

Procession 1972

The
opener “Ancora una notte” (One more night) starts with an
acoustic guitar arpeggio, then the electric guitar and the rhythm
section bring in a dark sense of impending change. The lyrics
describe the last night of an emigrant before leaving his native
village for the big city and an uncertain destiny... “One more
night and the train will set off / But in this last night I can’t
sleep / I’ve waited too long for this day / Now I’m scared / I
fear that my life could end there...”. The body is going to leave
but the roots are not yet broken and this contrast is underlined by
the music.

“Uomini
e illusioni” (Men and illusions) starts with a fiery electric
tarantella (that could recall PFM’s “E’ festa”). The lyrics
describe the train carrying its burden of men and illusions while
running through Italy, from South to North, men who feel strangers in
their own Homeland... “I will have to live my life / Like a clown
compelled to smile / Even when his son is dying / I can’t show any
pain...”.

“Città
grande” (Big city) opens with a delicate acoustic arpeggio, the
music and lyrics describe the arrival in the big city and the feeling
of pain for family and home left behind, the struggle for a job, then
the feeling of hope for a better world and society where people can
survive without leaving home... “Big city I’m here... I left my
mother, my girlfriend and perhaps my joy to live / But hope makes me
go on / And I will live of hope...”.

“Incontro”
(Meeting) is a joyful ballad featuring strummed acoustic guitar and
flute. The music and lyrics describe the meeting between the
protagonist and a boy about twenty years old. The boy talks about
friendship, love, freedom and equality... “We’re all alike / You
can find a thousand friends / If you look for them with your heart /
There are no limits / If you live in love...”.

“Anche
io sono un uomo” (I’m a man as well) is a delicate, melancholic
track about equality and awareness. The protagonist thanks the boy
for the new hope but then there arises an awareness that not everyone
thinks in the same way... “How many people treat me like a man and
don’t judge me? / How many people understand that I’m a man like
you?”.

The
long, complex “Un mondo di libertà” (A world of freedom) is more
aggressive. It starts softly but then fiery electric guitars start
storming enraged notes. Then the vocals come in while the tension
slackens... “You have lost your freedom / But I’m not speaking
with you just out of pity / There’s a whole world around you that
loves you like me / It’s true that everyone here minds just his own
business / But you are a man and you’ll find your way...”. The
lyrics are a kind of sermon against resignation, all in all every
place is the same and life is not so bad...

“Solo
1” (Alone) begins as an electric rock and roll... “Alone again,
alone again in the big city / You look around you / Trying to
understand where to go...”. Then rock and roll melts into something
very different and moody...

“Un
ombra che vaga” (A wandering shadow) begins with hard guitar riffs
shaping a troubled, desperate mood... Then comes a sudden change of
atmosphere and acoustic guitar and vocals describe what seems to be
just a wandering shadow, a living ghost... “Your future life is
like a dark shadow / You see your hopes in the eyes of the night /
Houses seem big but they are colourless / You would like to be at
home / But you can’t come back....”. Then, on “Solo 2” rock
and roll and loneliness are back for another desperate ride in the
big city... “Alone again, alone again in the big city / You look
around you / Trying to understand where to go...”.

Hopes
and disappointments, rage and love, friendship and loneliness, hard
rock and acoustic passages... On the whole a very good album with
good ideas and some ingenuity. Well, now the wish to go away from the
hectic city life rises... “Away from here, away from here!”.

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

La
Seconda Genesi came from Canino, a small town in the province of
Viterbo, and was one of the many Italian progressive rock “one-shot
bands” of the seventies. The leader of the band was guitarist
Paride De Carli, who, along with drummer Sandro Leoni, from 1963 to
1969 had been playing in clubs and on cruise ships. From 1969 to 1971
Paride De Carli spent two years in the Bahamas Islands playing with a
local multi-ethnic band and when back in Italy he released an album
with a band called Paride e gli Stereo 4, “Naufrago in città”,
on the independent label Picci Records. In 1972 he joined again with
Sandro Leoni and with Nazzareno Spaccia (bass), Giambattista Bonavera
(sax, flute) and Alberto Rocchetti (lead vocals and keyboards) formed
La Seconda Genesi. The band released only one album, “Tutto deve
finire”, also on Picci Records, before split up. In that period
progressive rock was very popular in Italy and “Tutto deve finire”
is just one of the many Italian albums in that vein, with the
musicians trying to blend many influences, from jazz and avant-garde
to hard rock and classical music.

“Tutto
deve finire” (Everything must end) is a concept album featuring
lyrics by the producer Giuseppe Cassia dealing with religious issues
such as the faith in God and the awareness that everything is bound
to come to an end except your soul. The instrumental opener
“Ascoltarsi nascere” (Listening to our own birth), is an
experimental piece where the band, with the sound of the sax in the
forefront, try to blend jazz and avant-garde with rock. The following
“L’urlo” (The scream) is another instrumental, a jazz-rock
track featuring a great saxophone work. It ends with a short organ
solo that marks a change in mood and atmosphere.

Next
comes “Se ne va con noi” (It goes away with us), with a
“sinister” drum and organ intro, a piece closer to the gloomy
mood of Il Balletto di Bronzo’s “Ys” than to Weather Report. On
this track the voice of Alberto Rocchetti reminds me slightly of
Gianni Leone... “Life dies with us / With a lament life goes away /
It goes, goes, goes away with us / The wind blows in the sky but the
sun can’t rise / Around us the air is going to die too / And people
don’t know when to set off / And people don’t know where to
go...”. A good track although in my opinion it's not at the same
level of “Ys”!

“Vedo
un altro mondo” (I see another world) features hard rock guitar,
flute “à la Jethro Tull”, a short vocal part that reminds me
slightly of New Trolls (though not with the same amazing harmony
vocals), a drum and organ passage, then a hard rock guitar part...
“I see another world / Man, who are you? / If you'll understand /
You’ll come to life again...”.

“Dimmi
Padre” (Tell me Father) in my opinion is the best track on this
album. It’s the more complex piece on the album and the band try to
blend classical influences and hard rock. You can find here echoes of
Osanna, Delirium, Le Orme and New Trolls – or, if you prefer, of
Jethro Tull, especially because of the flute... “Tell me Father /
Why do you not wonder any more about what you’re doing? / You have
been starving all along your life / Your faith is great but you will
not help your people / It doesn’t matter, my father / Anyhow
there’s always God...”. Dramatic vocals soar over a melting pot
of different influences...

The
following “Breve dialogo” (Short dialogue) is a short
instrumental with a good interaction between classical guitar and
organ. It leads to “Giovane uomo” (Young man), a track closer to
hard rock that recalls Osanna’s first album. Next comes
“Un'infanzia mai vissuta” (A never lived childhood), a quiet
instrumental piece built upon a classical guitar arpeggio.

The
album was re-released by Akarma Records in 2002 along with the
previous album of the guitarist Paride De Carli with the “Stereo
4”, “Naufrago in città” (two albums on one CD). “Naufrago in
città” is a completely instrumental album with most of the tracks
built upon classical guitar patterns with flute and organ drawing
calm, dreamy melodies.

Well,
on the whole “Tutto deve finire” might not be considered an
outstanding album but I think it's really worth listening to. Bye
the way, the original vinyl version of this album is extremely rare
and precious for “vinyl collectors” because of the particular art
cover featuring random jets of colour (actually, there’s a
different album cover for each one of the first 200 vinyl copies).